Friday, February 24, 2012

RIP, Barney Rosset

Barney Rosset was a publisher, not an author, and struggled for decades to write the story of his brave and wild life. But few over the past 60 years had so profound an impact on the way we read today.

The fiery and publisher Rosset, who introduced the country to countless political and avant-garde writers and risked prison and financial ruin to release such underground classics as "Tropic of Cancer" and "Lady Chatterley's Lover," has died. He was 89.

A lot of what the guy published is far less interesting stuff than it's claimed to be -- in the end, a lot of left-wing, avant garde stuff is frankly a little boring. And while you can safely live your life without ever having to slog through "Lady Chatterley's Lover," it's better to have the choice.

4 comments:

Night Writer
said...

The avant garde stuff that had to fight through the societal and publishing norms to get printed was, of course, a rebellion against those repressive norms (otherwise it wouldn't have controversial) and therefore "progressive" as it slapped at, or flat-out defied, traditional values.

The novelty, and often the salaciousness (though my recollection of Lady Chatterly was that it would elicit a yawn from a fan of Jacqueline Susann or Harold Robbins, who themselves might be considered tame today) made these popular and made the readers feel dangerous and enlightened. Along the way such "progressivism" was just assumed to be good by any who considered themselves "right-thinking". Few stopped to notice just how repressive and tyrannical the new standard itself is for those seeking its approbation. Woe to those with the boldness to depart from accepted doctrine. Meanwhile, those who seek to push the limits in the name of liberty have to be even more extreme in order to shock; rather than elevate, they degrade.

There are those who do rebel against the norm, though, and in Prosset's honor, a tip of the hat to them.

Few stopped to notice just how repressive and tyrannical the new standard itself is for those seeking its approbation. Woe to those with the boldness to depart from accepted doctrine. Meanwhile, those who seek to push the limits in the name of liberty have to be even more extreme in order to shock; rather than elevate, they degrade.

100% correct, NW. It's a surprisingly short walk from the avant garde to the Kommissar.